There is a controversy whether 4′33″ (4 mins 33 secs) was the intended duration. The original manuscript is lost, the first performance lasted 4′33″ (and there is a transcript of it with the exact duration of each movement shown), and later editions only show three movements “tacet”. Cage himself said (though much later), “the work may be performed by any instrumentalist or combination of instrumentalists and last any length of time”. --[[Special:Contributions/77.186.113.21|77.186.113.21]] 14:30, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

There is a controversy whether 4′33″ (4 mins 33 secs) was the intended duration. The original manuscript is lost, the first performance lasted 4′33″ (and there is a transcript of it with the exact duration of each movement shown), and later editions only show three movements “tacet”. Cage himself said (though much later), “the work may be performed by any instrumentalist or combination of instrumentalists and last any length of time”. --[[Special:Contributions/77.186.113.21|77.186.113.21]] 14:30, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

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:Uh, what? You can buy sheet music for 4'33" (!) and it's in Cage's own handwriting. Whether it's the "original manuscript" or not, the duration we have know was definitely okayed by Cage. [[User:Alpha|Alpha]] ([[User talk:Alpha|talk]]) 15:48, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

:Uh, what? You can buy sheet music for 4'33" (!) and it's in Cage's own handwriting. Whether it's the "original manuscript" or not, the duration we have know was definitely okayed by Cage. [[User:Alpha|Alpha]] ([[User talk:Alpha|talk]]) 15:48, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

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:4'33"=273=absolute temperature zero. This is the "standard" explanation of this length. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.230.125|108.162.230.125]] 15:41, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

:4'33"=273=absolute temperature zero. This is the "standard" explanation of this length. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.230.125|108.162.230.125]] 15:41, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

Perhaps the alt text is being overanalyzed. Is it not more likely to be just a sarcastic comment that all music is coincidental ambient noise interfering with the silence? [[User:MegsyS|MegsyS]] ([[User talk:MegsyS|talk]]) 14:43, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Perhaps the alt text is being overanalyzed. Is it not more likely to be just a sarcastic comment that all music is coincidental ambient noise interfering with the silence? [[User:MegsyS|MegsyS]] ([[User talk:MegsyS|talk]]) 14:43, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

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:I read it as more a semantic middle-ground between the (current) main explanation and yours. Instead of 'making all music have Cage's work "embedded" into it.', it means that 'all music(1) is Cage's work with someone else playing (other) music inside it, ambiently'. (1 - Any given four minutes and thirty-three seconds of music, that is. Whether that includes a subset of the longer 'embedded' piece, a superset of a a ''shorter'' embedded piece or a dislocated translation/truncation of shared 'sound space'. IYSWIM. YMMV.) [[Special:Contributions/31.109.25.88|31.109.25.88]] 17:30, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

:I read it as more a semantic middle-ground between the (current) main explanation and yours. Instead of 'making all music have Cage's work "embedded" into it.', it means that 'all music(1) is Cage's work with someone else playing (other) music inside it, ambiently'. (1 - Any given four minutes and thirty-three seconds of music, that is. Whether that includes a subset of the longer 'embedded' piece, a superset of a a ''shorter'' embedded piece or a dislocated translation/truncation of shared 'sound space'. IYSWIM. YMMV.) [[Special:Contributions/31.109.25.88|31.109.25.88]] 17:30, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

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I wrote this long before Cage did, and no one ever gave me any credit. Just because he was already famous does not make this a useful composition. [[Special:Contributions/206.181.86.98|206.181.86.98]] 23:21, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I wrote this long before Cage did, and no one ever gave me any credit. Just because he was already famous does not make this a useful composition. [[Special:Contributions/206.181.86.98|206.181.86.98]] 23:21, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

When out and about, the other day, I realised that I might well have 'caught' 4'33" as a mindworm. Every bit of 'silence' with just ambient noises. Awkward... [[Special:Contributions/178.98.135.249|178.98.135.249]] 23:27, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

When out and about, the other day, I realised that I might well have 'caught' 4'33" as a mindworm. Every bit of 'silence' with just ambient noises. Awkward... [[Special:Contributions/178.98.135.249|178.98.135.249]] 23:27, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

Revision as of 16:20, 29 July 2014

What are the chances that: that empty room is an anechoic chamber? 66.42.134.195 04:38, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Besides, 4'33" was not meant for anechoic chambers, Cage specifically talks about all the "sound and music" going on while the piano player is "doing nothing". 4'33" is separated into 3 parts, in which the piano player is also supposed to open and close the piano. --Pnariyoshi (talk) 14:22, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I may have had a professor in college show us a recording of 4'33", I can honestly say it was the least usefull 4'33" minutes of my academic career.... The argument we had over if this was artistic shortly afterwards was much more entertaining however.69.146.97.120 04:57, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Hmm... if we know the room is 4'33", couldn't we use that to figure out how tall Megan is? Just a thought. 86.181.5.232 12:37, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

There is a controversy whether 4′33″ (4 mins 33 secs) was the intended duration. The original manuscript is lost, the first performance lasted 4′33″ (and there is a transcript of it with the exact duration of each movement shown), and later editions only show three movements “tacet”. Cage himself said (though much later), “the work may be performed by any instrumentalist or combination of instrumentalists and last any length of time”. --77.186.113.21 14:30, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Uh, what? You can buy sheet music for 4'33" (!) and it's in Cage's own handwriting. Whether it's the "original manuscript" or not, the duration we have know was definitely okayed by Cage. Alpha (talk) 15:48, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

4'33"=273=absolute temperature zero. This is the "standard" explanation of this length. 108.162.230.125 15:41, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

I tend to prefer the radio edit, titled 3'44". Whereas the extended dance remix 7'20" has a nice beat but completely misses the point. - Frankie (talk) 16:26, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

Perhaps the alt text is being overanalyzed. Is it not more likely to be just a sarcastic comment that all music is coincidental ambient noise interfering with the silence? MegsyS (talk) 14:43, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I read it as more a semantic middle-ground between the (current) main explanation and yours. Instead of 'making all music have Cage's work "embedded" into it.', it means that 'all music(1) is Cage's work with someone else playing (other) music inside it, ambiently'. (1 - Any given four minutes and thirty-three seconds of music, that is. Whether that includes a subset of the longer 'embedded' piece, a superset of a a shorter embedded piece or a dislocated translation/truncation of shared 'sound space'. IYSWIM. YMMV.) 31.109.25.88 17:30, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I wrote this long before Cage did, and no one ever gave me any credit. Just because he was already famous does not make this a useful composition. 206.181.86.98 23:21, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

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